fantastic new york magazine article on the way our high school experience can have far-reaching effects excerpts a moment from Rookie mag:
Among the wisest essays came from Winnie Holzman, the creator of My So-Called Life: “In high school,” she wrote, “we become pretty convinced that we know what reality is: We know who looks down on us, who is above us, exactly who our friends and our enemies are.” The truth of the matter, wrote Holzman, is that we really have no clue. “[W]hat seems like unshakable reality,” she concluded, “is basically just a story we learned to tell ourselves.”
obsessive passion vs. harmonious passion in the atlantic
“Those with harmonious passion really love something, but ultimately can leave it, since it’s a "significant but not overwhelming part of their identity.” Harmonious passion doesn’t interfere with other aspects of life, like relationships or education. In contrast, obsessive passion resides in individuals who derive their self-esteem and identity primarily from their performance during the activity itself. Internalizing the activity exacts many costs. A lousy day on the basketball court threatens to undermine an obsessively passionate player’s entire identity.“
“If you perceive a peer as rebellious, ironic, rough, etc., then you perceive him or her as cool (by the old-time definition); and if you perceive him or her as cool (a positively valenced word), then you (by the halo effect) perceive him or her as friendly, competent, generous, etc. Thus, the halo effect might win out over the semantic tension between cachet and contrarian traits when judging the coolness of actual people.”
pressure, college admissions, and drug abuse among high school students in the nyt
“… some experts note that the survey does not focus on the demographic where they believe such abuse is rising steadily — students at high-pressure high schools — and also that many teenagers barely know that what they often call “study drugs” are in fact illegal amphetamines. “Isn’t it just like a vitamin?” asked one high school junior from Eastchester, a suburb of New York.”“
